Chapter 865 — The Walking Corpse Fiend

"Heavenly Venerable Ling's treasure lies within this outer coffin.

.

. " The sound of the Heavenly Dragon King's laughter came from within the hanging coffin, and then, in Shen Mu's ears, the laughter suddenly turned to screams. The hanging coffin shook violently, rocking to and fro on the surface of the Heavenly River, throwing up great waves.

Before long, blood flowed out of the hanging coffin, and the hanging coffin on the river gradually fell still.

Shen Mu's eye twitched; he looked warily at the hanging coffin afloat on the river.

The Lingxiao Hall of the Jade Capital City was a scene of ruin; the hall had been razed to the ground. The demigods the Heavenly Dragon King had brought were dead, every one of them, and the maidservants Yan Qiling and Mu Qiubai had brought had been gravely wounded by the Heavenly Dragon King and lay on the ground unable to rise. Over the wreckage of the fallen Lingxiao Hall several figures came flying in great haste, only to see that the surface of the Heavenly River had become a sea of blood, red gore rolling out from the hanging coffin and dyeing the river red.

Everyone's heart quailed.

Suddenly the hanging coffin clicked open—a coffin within a coffin: the outer coffin the Heavenly Dragon King had just carried and put inside the hanging coffin suddenly stood upright, standing straight in the hanging coffin.

That outer coffin had already been opened. Inside was pitch-black, and more terrible still, from within came a sound of chewing, as though something were gnawing. Suddenly gore gushed from the outer coffin like a flood; the blood came like a tide, pouring out on every side.

The Heavenly River had already been dyed red; now it turned a deeper crimson. Thud.

A huge dragon head flew out of the upright outer coffin, struck the surface of the river, and slowly sank into the water. It was the head of the Heavenly Dragon King. On the riverbank, Xing An's eye twitched violently; he hefted his box and quietly drew back.

"Heavenly Venerable Yu," Yan Qiling and Mu Qiubai also quietly withdrew. In the scramble just now, because their strength was far below the Heavenly Dragon King's and the others', they had not been favored with the Heavenly Dragon King's regard, and so had lived.

But now the very coffin they had fought over made their blood run cold.

Suddenly a claw thick with green hair reached out of the outer coffin; beneath the green hair the claw seemed cast of gold and bronze.

The faces of the crowd changed drastically—and at that moment a figure flew out of the outer coffin, and a tattered cloak spread in an instant across the sky above the Heavenly River.

It was an incomparably mighty emperor corpse, which had cultivated itself into a corpse fiend inside the coffin; sharp fangs grew in its mouth, and at the corners of its lips still hung the flesh and blood of the Heavenly Dragon King. Foul corpse qi flooded this dead Heavenly Court in an instant, and the corpse fiend flew through the sky, swift as light, swift as lightning, straight at them.

Yan Qiling screamed, and the maidservants beside her immediately shot into the sky to meet the emperor corpse.

These maidservants could match the Heavenly Dragon King blow for blow; though gravely wounded, they had survived, and their strength was exceedingly high—yet the corpse fiend that the emperor corpse had become caught them one in each hand and stuffed them into its mouth.

Everyone fled in all directions. The corpse fiend laughed evilly, its crimson cloak snapping.

Suddenly it dropped from the air, its tattered cloak covering a great swath of palace, and seized a fleeing maidservant.

From beneath the cloak came screams, and then no sound at all. The cloak flew up again and covered the sky, and the corpse fiend searched the air on every side, hunting for the breath of the living. "Senior Brother!

" The blind old man laid down the axe and chisel in his hands and raised his head, calling loudly, "Senior Brother! You are already dead.

Go back to the place where you belong! " At these words the corpse fiend that the Supreme Heavenly Emperor had become pounced straight at him, its murderous aura flooding the heavens—well worthy of the Supreme Heavenly Emperor of the Emperor Throne realm that it had been in life.

The blind old man held the axe in one hand and the chisel in the other; with a great clang, the axe struck the chisel.

A flash of light passed, and a beam shot from the chisel's tip and nailed the corpse fiend between the brows. The corpse fiend staggered as though struck by a heavy blow, and howling, flew backward; with a bang it fell into the emperor's coffin on the surface of the Heavenly River. The lid of the emperor's coffin closed.

The blind old man put away axe and chisel and swung up a chain; the chain grew longer and longer and coiled around the emperor's coffin.

He heaved the coffin up, gave it a violent shake, and sent it into the ruins of Lingxiao Hall. The emperor's coffin landed; countless broken bricks and tiles went clattering up into the air, and carved beams and painted rafters reassembled, becoming a treasured Lingxiao Hall that stood once more in the Jade Capital City strewn with stone coffins and stone steles.

The fleeing crowd, their souls scarcely back in their bodies, still trembled with dread.

Shen Mu looked at the blind old man, and shock filled his heart: the man was unremarkable in appearance, yet his cultivation and strength were unfathomable—if he was not of the Emperor Throne realm, he was not far from it.

"Heavenly Venerable Yu" walked toward the blind old man, his eyes shifting.

"You are. .

. Yi Shisheng, Heavenly Venerable Ling's disciple.

You are alive, and have been keeping watch here all this time?

" The blind old man paid him no heed and went on with his axe and chisel.

"Heavenly Venerable Yu" laughed.

"With your abilities, why torment yourself keeping vigil in this barren place?

Heavenly Venerable Ling cut off a stretch of the Heavenly River and used her own body to replace it, transforming into the substance of the river. Her divine art is truly exquisite; I admire it myself.

You are her disciple, and you must have learned something of her art. The Heavenly Court has great need of your talents.

" The blind old man stopped his hammering and turned his head to "look" at him.

"Which of my master's senior or junior brothers are you? " he said numbly.

"Since you know my master has become the substance of the Heavenly River, why come here at all? " "Heavenly Venerable Yu" laughed.

"I only came to see whether she is truly dead.

" "Can you be at ease now? " asked the blind old man. "I can be at ease," said "Heavenly Venerable Yu. " The blind old man clenched his axe, then suddenly relaxed, and said mildly, "Uncle, get out.

Do not come disturbing our peace. " "Heavenly Venerable Yu" laughed aloud.

The blind old man "looked" toward Shen Mu and said coldly, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, you get out too.

Take them and go.

You are not wanted here!

" Shen Mu exhaled a breath of turbid air and said in a low voice, "Rest assured, one day I will rescue Heavenly Venerable Ling. When I give my word, I keep it!

" He turned and walked toward the hanging coffin afloat on the Heavenly River; behind him the sound of knocking came again, and he did not know whether the blind old man had heard his words.